Electrical make-and-break-circuit device.



W. S. RYAN. ELECTRICAL MAKE AND BREAK CIRCUIT DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED DEC.1 1, 1910.

Patented July 23, 1912.

UNITED stra rns PATENT OFFICE.

WALTER s. RYAN, OFNEW YORK, N. Y ASSIGNOR TO LOUIS HENGERER, TRUSTEE, or NEWYORK, N. Y.

ELECTRICAL MAKE-AND-BREAK-CIRCUIT' DEVICE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 23, 1912.

Application filed December 14, 1910. Serial No. 597,184,.

. which the following is a specification, reference-being had tothe accompanying drawings, in, which- Figure l illustrates an elevation of a compact apparatus recently designedby me and which-embodies the present invention; Fig. 2 illustrates a, plan view of that which is shown in F ig. 1; Fig. 3 illustrates an enlarged view in elevation of the parts immediately involved in the invention, showing one form in which they may be made and in which they are shown in the position they occupy when the circuit is just about to be closed; Fig. 4 illustrates the position of-the parts shown in Fig. 3, just after the brush has made contact and the circuit has been closed; Fig. 5 illustrates an elevation of a desirable form of'brush or contact bar.

In make and break circuit devices of the class here under consideration the conducting surfaces are usually worn away or disintegrated at the point of initial contact because of the burning action of the are caused by the relatively small area of such initial contact points, and also the illumination of the lamp is not instantaneously full and complete since ordinarily an appreciable time intervenes between the moment of first contact and the time when a sufficient area of the brush is in contact with the conducting surface that co-acts with it, to transmit effectively the proper amount of current to effect full and complete illumination.

My invention, therefore, supplies devices whereby the two conducting devices will be I held apart free from contact until the mechanism in its orderly operation has brought the parts into such position that being then allowed to make contact, the. transmission of the current will'be instantly full and com plete, resulting in equally instantaneous, full and complete illumination of the lamp and the formation of an arc will be wholly or partly avoided.

Referring now to the drawings, in which, as stated, I illustrate one form only of apparatus in which the invent-ion may be employed, 1 represents a base of any suitable material and of any: preferred form;- 241-.

,motor supported on the base; 31a, casing; in the upper part of whicha shaft-.4 is'properly journaled.

5 represents a pulley: on the1 end of theshaft, 6 another pulley on the motor shaft,

and 7 a.belt passin over both these-pulleys. Aworm on the sha t 4 engages with a worm wheel within the casing, whereby the shaft-.8 onwhich the worm wheel is fixed, is turned.-

These last named parts are not illustrated more rigid plate 14 ofphosphor bronze, andv that the several laminw be rigidly bound together at their fixed, end by'an inclosing band or strap 15, but that the backingplate 14 be allowed to slide through the band 15, so that the clamping bolts 16 may rigidly hold all the parts composing the brush, yet the nuts being loosened, the plate 14 may be moved rearwardly to compensate from time to time for the wear of the brush. A strap 17 fastened to the plate 14, but not to the other laminae of the brush, incloses all the other laminae and holds them in place. The front ends of the laminae are cut off or shaped on the arc of a circle the same as that of the exterior of the conducting surfaces or flanges 10 of the wheels 9, so that there shall be immediate and continuous contact throughout the entire area of these surfaces the moment they are brought together.

18 is what I call the arc preventer. It is, or may be made in the form shown and of any suitable non-conducting material. I prefer porcelain. It is rigidly fastened to the front end of the conducting plates or flanges 10; but it may be otherwise supported. As shown, it has a part 19 which extends radially beyond the plane of the conducting surface so that, as shown in Fig. 3, the free end of the brush will be pressedback, and, bent somewhat upward, and thus held away from the part 10, during the rotationof the 7 wheel, until all the laminae of the brush are in position to drop simultaneously upon the part 10 when they finally escape from, or

pass beyond the part 19 of the arcpreventer,

moving part is broken away at appropriate" places where it is desired to interrupt the current, so' that the brush,-when it reaches the end of the partwith which it makes contact, will drop away therefrom into an open space and the current'will not be restablished until the front end of the ,nextadjacent conducting segment makes contact with the brush and in so doing first touches the brush at some distance from its end, because, owing to the'elastic character of the brush, when it falls into the open space referred to, its end projects downwardly into a different plane from that in which the conducting segment m'oves'and if it were not for my insulating arc 'preventer located at the front end of the conducting surface, an arc will be formed each time the brush makes contact therewith some distance, usually about an inch, back from the end of the brush and in time the first laminae of the brush, if it be a laminated one, or if not, then the whole single thickness of the brush will be disintegrated'or burnt'off, so that in time the brush end or the end of the first laminae as the case may be will drop off and then in succession the succeeding laminae will be burnt off and drop away until finally the brush, instead of wearing away at its end in the normal manner, hecomes much shortened by the destructive operation referred to and when this takes place, the arcing is greatly increased, resulting frequently in blistering and burning of the segments or contact surfaces them selves. Furthermore the full length of the brush is necessary for its required resilient action to secure proper operation and if the end of the brush is gone, its resilient action is largely and sometimes entirely wanting. Consequently it does not drop away from the rear end of the segmental or contacting surface as it should, on the contrary, it is apt to remain in substantially the same plane as it, so that the are created by the brush leaving the segmental surface is much Copies 01' prolonged; resulting in burning away little by little not only the rear end of the .con ducting surface, but likewise more and more of the brush, thus continually increasing the trouble, andsometimes if a new brush is not promptly supplied, serious injury, if not the destruction of the entire apparatus results. I

Obviously the details of construction may be diflerent from those illustrated. I show the contacting surfaces in the form of revolving wheels 9 having laterally projecting-segmentalsurfa'ces 10, but any other preferred construction having substantially the same parts in substantially the same re lation' to each other'may be substituted therefor. 5 1? Ielaim:

1; In 'a'make and break circuitiapparatus,

a driven shaft, a conducting member-fast on theshaft andhalv'inglaterallyprojecting segments, a brush adapted to engage. with fthe projecting se'gn'ients' @of the conducting member and f to 'drop; into the openj space in rear thereof,aud tion-conducting material a secured to the forwa'rd 'end of each segment and projectinglbeyon'd the plane'of the segment.

2. Ina make and break circuit apparatus,

a driven shaft, a conducting member fast on the shaft and provided with conducting segments, a resilient thrush adapted 'to engage with the conducting segments of the conducting member, and" non-conducting material secured to the forward end'of each conducting segment andprojecting beyond the plane thereof, adapted to engage with the brush and press 'it away from the conducting segment'until the non-conducting material has passed' 1 v 3. In a make and break circuit apparatus, a driven shaft, a conducting member fast on the shaft and having laterally projecting conducting segments, a resilient brush composed of a series of resilient laminae, a backing plate for the brush laminae, a strap supported by and fastened to the backing plate and which incloses the other laminae of the brush, the brush being so arranged as to engage with the projecting segments of the conducting member and to drop into the open space in rear thereof, and non-conducting material secured to the forward end of each conducting segment in the path of the brush.

In testimony whereof I have signed'my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

\VALTER S. RYAN.

Witnesses:

PHILLIPS ABBOTT, CORNELIUS P. MCLAUGHLIN.

this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C. 

